As many of us blogger types are doing, we are riffing off of Vaughn Palmer's column about the NDP thoughts on spending.
The NDP do have a point when looking at the current BC budget, it is optimistic. I suspect we will see larger deficits this year and next. But where the NDP loses me is when they talk about cuts to the healthcare and education. Neither has happened. The NDP may not like how much money the Liberals have added to education and healthcare, but that does not turn increased government spending into budget cuts. I would have much more respect for the NDP if they got rid of the moronic spin masters that are suggesting some of their lines. Let Carole be Carole, it can be worse than the doublethink pablum they are dispensing.
I am also concerned that the NDP wants to abandon the carbon tax but not the tax shifting. The Liberals have done a zero sum with the carbon tax by tax shifting. Tax shifting has been an important concept on the left for about 20 years but few governments have been willing to do it. Now that there is a government in BC willing to do it, the NDP opposes tax shifting. But it is worse than that, the NDP is opposed to taking action on climate change issues by the method recognized globally as the most important tool to achieving the change.
The carbon tax is a great Pigovian tax - using taxation to marshal market forces for a public good. The NDP wants to get rid of it.
Losing the carbon tax will mean a big budgetary hole, I have no idea how they plan to fill it. Losing the carbon tax will also reduce demand for transit and force government to offer a higher subsidy to transit operators.
Dropping the carbon tax will return most of the money to the richest 10% of the population and businesses but I do not see them coming out and supporting the NDP for offering them a tax cut.
This bears saying clearly and dramatically:
The NDP plan for the Carbon Tax will help the rich the most and put us much deeper in debt.
As a quick estimate, based on what the NDP has been saying, in three years the NDP would add about $6 000 000 000 to $8 000 000 000 to the provincial debt. That is $1500 to $2000 more in debt per person in BC than what is going happen with the BC Liberals.
I may be a huge Phil Hochstein fan, but his line at Vote Smart BC - Wrong Leader. Wrong Party. Wrong Time. resonates with me.
3 comments:
I think its too optimistic. Especially if the economy gets worse.
It will be a lot tighter on election night. Guaranteed.
Glass
Why do you think it will get tighter? What will cause the NDP to gain ground now?
The economy belongs to the Liberals as an election issue and not the NDP.
The NDP has not managed to dig up a major smoking gun in Basi/Virk, certainly nothing much more than what was already out there.
I am very interested to know what would make the election get close.
The NDP budget is much more realistic than the present BC Liberal budget. It is a pre-election ploy and if the Libs win, they will revise it (as they said they would ) and it will be closer to what the NDP are saying.
Bernard von Schulmann said... "Why do you think it will get tighter? "
Mainly doing a poor job administering the province, lying and acting in secret.
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